Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Do you still remember the last time Pak Zawi did some gardening in this area? The area was turning into a productive vegetable plot when together with another neighbor we cleared the area of shrubs and grasses and tilled the soil to plant various vegetables. We had to stop the gardening because the landowner came with a team of surveyors as he wanted to build his house then.Now it has been several months and no sight of any building activity and the area is covered with shrubs and mimosa which we fear may harbour dangerous snakes and other pests such as rats.The need to exercise is another reason why Pak Zawi wants to go back to gardening. It doesn't matter if I don't get to harvest anything, the strenuous work of clearing the place of the luxurious growth of mimosa plants and other weeds will be good exercise for Pak Zawi. A blogger friend who lives on the Island of Pulau Kapas has been given me great advice on diets and all the rigeurs on how to keep fit. Exercise is the most important he said. I must sweat it out beside taking healthy food, food supplements and whatnot. he said I will paint better if I am in the best of health as a healthy mind is only found in a healthy body. thank you Tokuban of The Captain's Longhouse or the Pirate of The South China Sea as he sometimes called himself. The best way to sweat it out is by gardening. So here I am, doing it again on a piece of idle land in front of my house. If time permits I may get to harvest the fruit of my labour, otherwise I will just enjoy sweating it out and at the same time keep the area free of unwanted weeds.

Hard at work using the brush cutter.

Tried an an experiment to see whether machines can work on there own. The conclusion: Machines need humans to get it working. Only that machines help to make the work done faster with less effort.

how the area looked after a short workout.

How the area looks after another evening of clearing away the grasses and shrubs and use of the changkul to clean weed the grasses.Today Pak Zawi bought some vegetable seeds comprising of kangkong, bayam, sawi, choy sam, ladies fingers and sweet corns. The idea is to start planting on a small patch at a time without waiting for the whole area to be cleared up. This way I hope to be able to harvest early those vegetables that will be planted earlier.So about 4 weeks from now I will be harvesting some early crop of kangkong or bayam. It doesn't matter if they are not matured enough, they younger they are, the better.A few days ago, my former teacher by the name of Chegu Rahman Ali came over to Kelantan to join a dinner hosted by the former students of Upper Six and Lower Six Arts of my Alma Mater. Cikgu Rahman on his return home to Damansara KL, came to Pasir Mas to embark on the train back to KL. The train was the only mean of transport left as every other mean was full. Due to that Pak Zawi and a few friends managed to send him off. At the station Pak Zawi presented Cikgu Rahman with a painting Pulau Pohon Batu Labuan. It was a small gift for someone who had given Pak Zawi so much. For those who attended schools in SIS Pasir Mas, SIC in Kota bharu and MCKK in Kuala Kangsar Perak and knows Cikgu Rahman Ali, see his photo at Pak Zawi's Paintings. Mat Salo of Borneo Blues: A Mat salo's Perspective is one of those who knows him.

Leena,by Idil Adha, the vegetables maybe ready for harvesting already so you better come and have makan at Uncle's place to enjoy it.Yes I will be definitely be more healthy but hensem? I doubt it myself hahaha.

■If you get tired reading this, go back to bed, as on average we need to have 8.1 hours of sleep to re-charge our bodies.

■People who have less than 6 hours sleep a night have a 70 % higher mortality rate, according to my studies. (I'm currently studying spending 18 hours in bed, so will hopefully live to a 130. hahaha !!)

■Have a glass of water by your bed, and attempt to drink eight 8 oz glasses of water a day.

■Make sure you don't skip breakfast, unless you get out of bed after 12 o'clock, then go straight for lunch.

■Spend time at breakfast to plan out your day, take each day one day at a time, but make the most of them, planning is the key to success.

■Smile, laugh be happy, don't take everything in life to serious, remember its alright to fart, apparently we all do it on average 13 times a day, and that includes ladies. Relax Luuuu selalu Yeop Oii !!

■If you're going to fart, and you're in public, cough at the same time to cover up the noise. This is also a good stomach exercise.

■Take a good quality multi-vitamin / mineral supplement each morning. A recent survey revealed that not one person from 21,500 consumed their optimum RDA of vitamins.

■If you feel tired just after eating lunch, (the 2 o'clock slump), you are probably eating too much refined/processed carbohydrates, and your body has become carbohydrate sensitive. Try and eat more complex carbs, and add more protein and fibre to your meals. Oh yeah, don't forget to drink that water.

■When managing your weight avoid anything that is not in a measurable quantities.

■Remember low fat foods, are often laced with sugar, which also has calories, just look at a low fat yogurt.

■If exercise were a drug, we would all have a bottle in the kitchen cupboard.

Captain,What you wrote will be my guidance. Sad to tell you I have yet to get the Epsom salt from any of the pharmacies in Pasir Mas. Will have to look it up at the bigger pharma in KB.Gudnite Captain.

Kama,Don't blame you hands for the plant to die on you. There must be other basic principles that must be wrong with the way you care for the plants. Water alone isn't sufficient and too much fertilizer could also kill a plant. The media in the pot need to be changed after sometimes to allow for new roots to grow. this is the most common mistakes among city farmers hehehehe. Get someone who knows to check and rectify your mistakes and you will enjoy gardening even on the balcony of your posh condo. If it is a bunggalow on an acre of land, all the more reason for you to enjoy gardening.

Gardening is a great idea! At our age, whatever we do, we should do because we enjoy it. There's no point living to be 100 if it's going to be a miserable life, no?

You veg will be delicious! Chuan grows some sayur once in a while, and they're always yummy. His last crop was of pretty yellow plum tomatoes. We couldn't eat them fast enough when they ripened!!! Yummy!

Its easy and kind of safe,,,,just drink 1 glass of fresh apple juice for 5 nights (from 4-5 green apples or just eat them !)

,,,,,, and on the 6th night, take 1 x spoon of epsom salt mixed with water at 0600 p.m. and again at 0800 p.m.

At 1000 p.m. drink 1 x glass of mixed Lemon juice and Olive Oil.

AND that's it !!!!!!,,,,just wait and later run to the toilet and shit everything out.......the gallstones will be green in colour and will float,,,,,,pick them up if you want to further check it. (use a spoon-lah)

,,,,,,,try it out, it works for me,,,,,,,sharing my experience-lah. The next morning, you will find even more green stones in your stools. "Usually they float," and "You might want to count them. I have had friends who passes 40, 50 or up to 100 stones. Very many.""Even if you don't have any symptoms of gallstones, you still might have some. It's always good to give your gall bladder a clean-up now and then.

Pat,How true with what you said. I'd rather live to a productive 70 rather than a bedridden 100 and be a burden to my children. Let us make the most out of life.Aha, that reminds me to plant some tomatoes. I like tomatoes.

Ee Lynn,I guess you must be the only one who really read through the post or enjoyed the joke.They are really hard work and made me sweat profusely. I don't mind it really but I can't stand the pollen from the mimosa flowers that made me sneezes and both the eyes and nose watery.

,,,To those in good health, tomatoes in moderation are fine. However, anybody suffering from arthritis or fibromyalgia is best to stay away from them. The pain is just not worth it.,,,Highly acidic - If you buy into the acid/alkaline theory then you'd want to avoid them because they are very acidic plus high in sodium.(it raises your blood sugar which can lead to DEATH !).,,,Sorry am not trying to stop you from your home grown tomatoes BUT pls be aware of its hazards too-lah.,,,eat lots of ladies fingers !! & serai mentah..petai too (find them in the market-lah cannot grow them cos it takes too long !! hahaha )

Zendra,The sands in Pasir Mas only look golden, just like a mirage, they are not the real gold. If we can find gold just by digging up, we will all be rich and I will be giving away free paintings to every one hahahaha.

Capyain,I have the gout so I won't be planting the tomatoes. I have a petai tree back home in my village but I prefer to get my supplies from the market because they are located just about knee high compared to sky high on the tree. Easier to pick right?

I really hate cutting those grasses.Even though I have a machine, I still hire a gardener to come to my house every once a month.Certain things have to let the expert do it, and we concentrate on the more useful things.. sometimes.

Lim,I bought the grass cutter because I have to maintain two pieces of small orchards. The compound of my house are either tiled up or paved up so there is not much area to get the expert to maintain. Furthermore I need the exercise and working with the machine allows me to bathe in sweat. So I am killing two birds with one stone. Anyway I am an expert grass cutter myself hehehehe.

,,,hehehe !! pls no killing of birds allowed nowadays-lah, just take pic. of them singing o.k. yaa !. ,,,your area will be brighten up as well as your life my friend. "Loving life & living it" as NAZ at Norway of SERENITY NOW ! puts it ya!,,,YES indeed, I have been scouting around other bloggers lifestyle and living life their way too...just great to see us Malaysian all over the world nowadays !!. Very special indeed and interesting to get to know their ways !! hahaha..Like the song "My Way"..only song that I could sing !! hohohoo plus really make them cry..sob, sob on hearing me singing hahaha !! very very emotional to me plus my friends cos. of the relationship plus bonding in our friendship.,,,well, don't blame me because am a heart robber. (Pirate-kan ??).,,,Good, you are sweating everyday too plus your paintings are as healthy as the painter now yaa !! from the looks of it. pretty good with strong strokes..yes make it bold, no takut takut with choose of color..be as creative as possible.,,,by the way, have you started on batik painting lessons by now ??. if not why not ?? hehe relax buddy, do it at your own free time, no pressure just go for the pleasure yoo !.,,,and am back on the island !! happy yet but very very sad to leave my bedridden daddy in K.L.

Captain,Malaysians are all over the world. if only each one of them will have my painting then I can tell the world my paintings are all over the world. Hopefully one or two will go to Nuyork (Mek Yam) London (Kak Teh) and Toronto (U Lee) and if u can convince NAZ it may go to Norway hehehehe.Been trying to convince another fellow artist not to shoot birds for the sheer pleasure of killing them.Like you, I only have one song that I can sing with feelings "Help Me make It Through The Night". Learn't it cos I have to emcee stage shows with our live band a few decades ago. Now the band is defunct.Yet to learn the batik painting but will have to move on to it once this current orders on my hands are fulfilled. Like right now I may be stuck with the current technique till another few monts as I am getting fresh orders while the old orders are not done yet.No problem with the strokes, will use bold colors are advised.I can feel how you feel with regards to leaving your bedridden dad. Go back to him whenever you find time. Let him breathe his last breath in your arms.